2009 UEFA EUROPEAN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH PRESS KIT Finland England Turku Stadium, Turku Thursday 3 September 2009 - 15.00CET (16.00 local time) Matchday 4 - Quarter-finals Contents Match background.........................................................................................2 Team facts.....................................................................................................2 Squad list.......................................................................................................5 Match-by-match lineups................................................................................7 Tournament schedule....................................................................................9 Head coach..................................................................................................11 Competition facts..........................................................................................12 Tournament information................................................................................14 Legend.........................................................................................................15 Finland v England Thursday 3 September 2009 - 15.00CET (16.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Turku Stadium, Turku Match background The UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ quarter-finals begin in Turku with a sell-out encounter between hosts Finland and England that brings to mind a historic match in this competition four years ago. • Finland secured first place in Group A with one game remaining after beating Denmark 1-0 and the Netherlands 2-1, meaning they could afford a 1-0 loss to Ukraine on Saturday. • The crowds of 16,324, 16,148 and 15,318 at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki for those games were comfortably the biggest to watch a women's international in Finland. • England made a stuttering start when, playing most the game with ten players after Casey Stoney's dismissal, they took the lead but lost 2-1 to Italy. It was the other way round when they recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Russia 3-2, all the scoring in the first half with Kelly Smith's winner coming from the centre circle. A 1-1 draw against Sweden took England through from Group C as one of the two best third-placed teams. • England and Finland last met in two friendlies in Larnaca, Cyprus in February. The first game was a 2-2 draw, Kelly Smith's penalty and Lianne Sanderson's goal putting England ahead before Leena Puranen and Anne Mäkinen levelled later in the first half on what was Laura Österberg-Kalmari's comeback to the team after two years away. • Two days later England won 4-1. Faye White, Emily Westwood and Smith (penalty) all scored before the break, while Rachel Yankey made it four in the second half before Annica Sjölund's consolation. • The previous time they met was at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, the opening game for hosts England against finals debutants Finland in front of 29,092 people at the City of Manchester Stadium, still a competition record. • An own goal by Sanna Valkonen and Amanda Barr's header gave England a 2-0 lead at the break. Anna-Kaisa Rantanen and Österberg-Kalmari's 89th-minute strike drew Finland level but it was England who won it thanks to Karen Carney's dramatic late winner. However, it was Finland who emerged from Group A in second place to reach the semi-finals. • Finland have never beaten England in senior men's or women's internationals. The women's side has lost five times to England with four draws, Finland scoring nine goals and England 17. • They have met twice in Finland; a 0-0 draw in Tampere on 29 September 1990 in FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying and a 2-1 England win in Kirkkonummi on 25 October 1987 in a 1989 European qualifier. The following September they drew 1-1 in Millwall, London. • The winners of this game face France or the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Sunday at the Tampere Stadium. Team facts FINLAND Finnish women's football dates back to before the First World War and their first championship was in 1971, two years before their national team made their bow. However, for a long period they were not able to match the success of neighbours Norway and Sweden. They did pick up the occasional scalp, such as West Germany in 1995, Norway three years later and Denmark in 2000, but signs of a real improvement came when HJK Helsinki reached the inaugural 2001/02 UEFA Women's Cup semi-finals, losing to Umeå IK, who were to sign Laura Kalmari, Sanna Valkonen and Jessica Julin. They were at the core of the squad that beat Russia in a play-off to qualify for the 2005 UEFA European Women's Championship and despite an opening 3-2 loss to hosts England in front of 29,092 spectators, Finland held Sweden 0-0 and beat Denmark 2-1 to reach the semi-finals, losing to Germany. They missed out on the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup narrowly behind Denmark but already were assured a 2009 European berth as hosts. Tournament record 2005: semi-finals 2001: qualifying play-offs 1997: qualifying play-offs 1995: qualifying 1993: qualifying 1991: qualifying Last updated 01/09/09 15:44:33CET Team facts 2 Finland v England Thursday 3 September 2009 - 15.00CET (16.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Turku Stadium, Turku 1989: qualifying 1987: qualifying 1984: qualifying Players with previous European final tournament experience Petra Vaelma (2005), Sanna Valkonen (2005), Tiina Salmén (2005), Jessica Julin (2005), Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (2005), Sanna Malaska (2005), Sanna Talonen (2005), Laura Österberg-Kalmari (2005), Anne Mäkinen (2005). Friendly results in 2009 10/01/09 Finland 0-4 South Korea (Guangzhou Tournament) 12/01/09 China 1-0 Finland (Guangzhou Tournament) 14/01/09 Finland 2-0 New Zealand (Guangzhou Tournament, third place) 09/02/09 Finland 2-2 England (in Cyprus) 11/02/09 Finland 1-4 England (in Cyprus) 04/03/09 Finland 0-2 Germany (Algarve Cup) 06/03/09 Finland 0-1 Sweden (Algarve Cup) 09/03/09 Finland 0-1 China (Algarve Cup) 11/03/09 Finland 1-1 Portugal, 4-2 pens (Algarve Cup, seventh place) 28/05/09 Finland 3-2 Italy 22/07/09 Finland 1-3 Sweden 10/08/09 Finland 4-0 Northern Ireland Competition record win 4-0 v Czech Republic (h), 19/06/94, 1995 qualifying Competition record defeat 0-7 v Norway (a), 06/07/96, 1997 qualifying ENGLAND England have a long history in women's football and reached the final of the first European competition in 1984 – a side which contained current manager Hope Powell that lost on penalties to Sweden – but it is in the last few years that they have really emerged as a force in the game. There were hints of a revival in 1995 when England reached the UEFA European Women's Championship semi-finals and the last eight of the FIFA Women's World Cup but did not qualify for the continental event two years later. Powell was then appointed the first full-time manager and implemented a system that has brought through a host of talented young players. They qualified in 2001 and were hosts four years later, attracting big crowds but missing the semi-finals. But that same set of players made the World Cup quarter-finals in 2007 and topped their group this time around. There was also a boost in July when England won their first UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship. Tournament record 2005: group stage (hosts) 2001: group stage 1997: qualifying play-offs 1995: semi-finals 1993: quarter-finals 1991: quarter-finals 1989: qualifying 1987: fourth place 1984: runners-up Other honours 2009 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship winners 2009 qualifying P8 W6 D2 L0 F24 A4 Top scorer: Kelly Smith 5 Most appearances: Anita Asante, Karen Carney, Fara Williams, Alex Scott 8 Players with previous European final tournament experience Rachel Brown (2001*, 2005), Rachel Unitt (2001, 2005), Faye White (2001, 2005), Katie Chapman (2001, 2005), Kelly Smith (2001, 2005), Sue Smith (2001), Alex Scott (2005), Casey Stoney (2005*), Lindsay Johnson (2005), Anita Asante (2005*), Fara Williams (2005), Emily Westwood (2005), Karen Carney (2005), Eniola Aluko (2005), Jody Handley (2005*). Last updated 01/09/09 15:44:33CET Team facts 3 Finland v England Thursday 3 September 2009 - 15.00CET (16.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Turku Stadium, Turku *Did not appear Friendly results since qualifying 09/02/09 England 2-2 Finland (in Cyprus) 11/02/09 England 4-1 Finland (in Cyprus) 05/03/09 England 6-0 South Africa (Cyprus Women's Cup) 07/03/09 England 2-2 France (Cyprus Women's Cup) 10/03/09 England 3-0 Scotland (Cyprus Women's Cup) 12/03/09 England 3-1 Canada (Cyprus Women's Cup, winners) 23/04/09 England 3-0 Norway 16/07/09 England 0-2 Iceland 22/07/09 England 1-0 Denmark Competition record win 10-0 v Slovenia (h) 17/04/94, 1995 qualifying 10-0 v Slovenia (a) 25/09/93, 1995 qualifying 10-0 v Northern Ireland (h), 16/03/86, 1987 qualifying Competition record defeat 0-8 v Norway (a), 04/06/00, 2001 qualifying Last updated 01/09/09 15:44:33CET Team facts 4 Finland v England Thursday 3 September 2009 - 15.00CET (16.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Turku Stadium, Turku Squad list Finland Current season Overall Qual. FT WCHAMP No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Minna Meriluoto 04/10/85 23 Hammarby IF DFF - - - 1 - 1 - 12 Petra Häkkinen 31/01/79 30 HJK Helsinki - - - - - - - 14 Tinja-Riikka Korpela 05/05/86 23 FC Honka Espoo - - - 2 - 2 - Defenders 2 Petra Vaelma 11/05/82 27 Klepp Elite - - - 3 - 24 - 4 Sanna Valkonen 12/12/77 31 KIF Örebro DFF - - - 2 - 26 2 5 Miia Niemi 09/07/83 26 Amazon Grimstad - - - 1 - 6 - 6 Tiina Salmén 03/08/84 25 Amazon Grimstad - - - 3 - 13 2